Leaders Who Spoke The Word Of God

Hebrews 13:6-7,17 - So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith…Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.


Hebrews 6:11-12 - And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 2:2-4 - For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Ephesians 5:1 - Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 – And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Application:

· Obedience to my leaders will benefit me since my soul will be cared for and it will create joy for my leaders
· Do I imitate the faith of my leaders?
· If the Mosaic law came with retribution for failure to obey, then surely the Lord’s salvation comes with more dangerous retribution if I neglect it
· Do I have a forgiving spirit? Do I act just as my Lord did?
· Suffering affliction is normal for those destined to be saved at the end.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

No Further Word Be Spoken To Them

Hebrews 12:17-21 - For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”


Exodus 20:18-19 - Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

Deuteronomy 9:19 - For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also.

Application:

· Do I think of compromising my faith in order to gain relief from persecution? Am I willing to trade my spiritual birthright for temporary ease in this world?
· Jesus Christ is my Mediator who stands between God and me
· Israel survived because of Moses intercessory prayer

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Word of God

Hebrews 4:11-12 - Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.


Mark 4:14 - The sower sows the word.

John 10:35-36 - If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

1 Peter 1:22-25 - Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Jeremiah 23:29 - Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Application:

· In spite of many obstacles, God’s Word will accomplish His purpose
· Every single word in Scripture is completely true and reliable
· I am born anew through the whole of written Scripture, especially the saving message of the gospel
· God’s Word shatters the sinful heart
· The opposite of perseverance is disobedience
· The one true God consists of more than one person, they relate to each other and they have always existed
· The plans and purposes of the nations will not prevail, but the word of God will

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

We Do Not Peddle The Word Of God For Profit

2 Corinthians 2:16-17 - To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.


John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

2 Corinthians 3:6 - He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

1 Corinthians 5:8 - Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 9:12 - If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Application:

· God’s opposition to evil is both total and permanent
· Have I been provided with love for God’s law? Have I been provided with the power to keep it?
· Do I speak before God with sincerity?
· Do I live in holy dedication to God?
· Am I ready to surrender my rights?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Washing With Water Through The Word

Ephesians 5:24-27 - Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

John 17:19 - For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Hebrews 2:11 - Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

Acts 22:16 - And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

Titus 3:4-7 - But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

1 Peter 1:23 - For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Application:

· Do I devote myself to my wife's good?
· Have I been saved and consecrated to God's service?
· Am I part of the brotherhood of the Redeemer?
· Have my sins been washed away?
· I have been saved by God's mercy!!!
· Have I been born again through the imperishable word?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Born Again...Through The...Word Of God

1 Peter 1:23-25 - For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.

Titus 3:4-7 - But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

Conclusions:

• The new birth comes about through the direct action of the Holy Spirit, but the word of God also plays an important role, for it presents the gospel to the sinner and calls on him to repent and believe in Christ
• In 1 Peter 1:23 the seed is doubtless the word of God, which is imperishable, living and enduring
• Salvation is not achieved by human effort or merit but comes through God’s mercy alone
• Washing of rebirth is a reference to new birth, of which baptism is a sign
• Washing of rebirth cannot mean that baptism is necessary for regeneration, since the New Testament plainly teaches that the new birth is an act of God’s Spirit and is not effected or achieved by ceremony
• Renewal by the Holy Spirit is also a reference to new birth
• The plans and purposes of the nations will not prevail

Application:

• Have you been called on to repent and believe in Christ?
• Is your salvation by God's mercy alone?
• Will your plans and purposes prevail?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Word Of Life

1 John 1:1-3 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-2,4 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

1 Timothy 3:16 - Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Conclusions:

• Fellowship is the spiritual union of the believer with Christ—as described in the figures of the vine and branches and the body and the head—as well as communion with the Father and with fellow believers
• The Word was distinct from the Father
• Jesus was God in the fullest sense
• Christ is the light of the world, who holds out wonderful hope for man
• Jesus not only is life but conveys life to the believer so that death will never triumph over Him
• Jesus is the way to God
• Jesus is not one way among many, but the way
• In the early church, Christianity was sometimes called the Way
• The Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to drive out demons and perform miracles
• Most importantly, the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and thereby vindicated Him, showing that He was indeed the Son of God
• Christ was seen by angels at His resurrection and ascension

Application:

• Are you in spiritual union with Christ?
• Is God's Word meaningful to you?
• Is Christ your hope?
• Does Jesus convey life to you?
• Do you see Jesus as the only way?
• Does Jesus Christ produce piety in you?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Word of truth

James 1:18-25 - He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

1 Peter 1:23 - For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

John 8:32 - Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

James 2:12-13 - Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

John 8:34 - Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Conclusions:

• The new birth comes about through direct action of the Holy Spirit, but the word of God also plays an important role, for it presents the gospel to the sinner and calls on him to repent and believe in Christ
• The imperishable seed is doubtless the word of God, which is imperishable, living and enduring
• Perfect law is the moral and ethical teaching of Christianity, which is based on the Old Testament moral law, as embodied in the Ten Commandments, but brought to completion by Jesus Christ
• In contrast to the sinner, who is a slave to sin, obeying the moral law gives the Christian the joyous freedom to be what he was created for
• Closely connected with Jesus, the truth is not philosophical truth but the truth that leads to salvation
• The truth will set you free from sin, not ignorance
• The judgment is James 2:12 is not for determining eternal destiny, for James is speaking to believers, whose destiny is already determined
• The judgment in James 2:12 is for giving rewards to believers
• A sinner is a slave to sin because he cannot break free by his own strength

Application:

• Have you been called to repent and believe in Christ?
• Are you being what you have been created for?
• Do you know the truth?
• Do you speak and act based on heavenly rewards?
• Are you a slave to sin?

All Scripture verses from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible